Sunday, December 8, 2013

The only cardinal bird in Michigan is the Northern Cardinal. The term "Northern" in the common name refers to
its range, because they are only found in the Northern Hemisphere. And the “Cardinal” name was derived from the vivid red
plumage of the male, which resembles the robes of the Cardinals of the Roman
Catholic Church.

But there are actually several birds in the world with
the name Cardinal. Cardinalis
is a genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae and there are three species ranging across North and South America.

Paroaria, the red-headed cardinals or cardinal-tanagers are not close to the
Cardinalidae
but are related to
tanagers. They all look similar to a skinny Northern
Cardinal, with a pointier yellowish bill. Their heads have large
amounts of bright red and short crests while their bodies are white below and
dark grey to black above.